Shirley-Anne Somerville has described city council blueprints as “excellent” and says they serve the community “very well”.
Her endorsement paves the way for a formal public discussion of the authority’s preferred option, which would see a Gaelic Medium Education (GME) secondary constructed alongside a replacement Liberton High on the latter’s existing site.
Current provision at James Gillespie’s High would be gradually discontinued.
The proposals are part of a wider vision for GME expansion that includes creating additional dedicated capacity in the primary sector, initially at schools in the west and south-east of the city.
However, they have sparked concern among critics who feel that co-locating Gaelic and English language schools may undermine the possibility of a fully immersive GME experience.